Protective sleeve for children



7/////////// f I l Filed Jan. 19, 1940 H. BRESNICK ETAL PROTECTIVE SLEEVE Fon CHILDREN April 14, 1942.

Patented Apr. i4, 1942 PROTECTIVE SLEEVE FOR CHILDREN Harry Bresnick and Esther S. Bresnick, New York, N. Y.

Application January 19, 1940, Serial No. 314,728

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a protective sleeve for children which is particularly suitable for arresting harmful habits, such as iingersucking, nail biting, and the like.

It is the object of the invention to provide a protective sleeve having capabilities of variation of the restraining influence exercised thereby to the bending of the arm at the elbow which is effective not only'for infants, but for children of older years, and even adults.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a protective sleeve for children which is simple and light in construction, economical to produce, and easy to wash and keep clean.

Furthermore, the invention comprehends a protective sleeve which may be attached quickly and conveniently to the arm of a child, which is retained in position under all circumstances, and which can be easily disengaged by anyone but the wearer conveniently and with dispatch.

The invention proceeds upon the principle of a sleeve formed by a sheet of flexible material which is designed to surround the arm of the wearer above and below the elbow. Reenforcements in the form of stays of suitable material of predetermined rigidity, extend longitudinally of the sleeve and provideimpediments to the bending of the arm at the elbow without interfering with the movements of the hand or arm in an extended direction. The stays may be of different material, such as Celluloid, metal, wood and the like, having different bending characteristics, and may be interchangeable in the sleeve to adjust the same to the desired purposes. A feature of the invention is the provision of one or more straps on the inside of the sleeve,.one of which is designed to be fastened about the arm and preferably around the wrist of the wearer for the purpose of maintaining the sleeve in place. Although one strap at the bottom end of the sleeve has proven adeouate, an additional strap may be provided at the upper end of the sleeve to be tied around the 11p-v per end of the arm. Furthermore, the sleeve is tted with slide fastener tapes which are designed to be joined by the movement of a slide element, resulting in the rapid manipulation of the closure. A locking arrangement for the slide may be provided to. prevent the movement thereof by the wearer by virtue of the fact that the locking arrangement requires either a key or the manipulation of two hands, which can only be executed by a person other than the wearer. Preferably a reenforcing slat is provided adjacent to the slide fastener in order to rigidify the sleeve at that point and to prevent the slide from being pulled down accidentally. In order to insure against any disengagement of the holding strap on the inside of the sleeve which might be attempted by older children or adults, a flexible protuberance may be tted at the bottom end of the sleeve on the inside thereof, to minimize the space between the sleeve and the arm, to prevent access to the strap.

Other objects and purposes will appear from the more detailed description of the invention following hereinafter, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the sleeve in closed position, with parts of it broken away to illustrate the arrangement of the strap designed to embrace the wrist of the wearer;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the inside of the sleeve in open position;

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the upper end of the sleeve showing in detail a, different embodiment of the locking arrangement for the slide of the slide fastener from that shovinin Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the sleeve with the lower part thereof in section showing the modification embodying a protuberance at thev bottom end of the sleeve on the inside thereof.

In Figure 1 is shown a sleeve formed of a flexible material such as a textile fabric l having an inside backing 2 coextensive therewith and designed to be stitched at the upper and lower ends thereof, with stitching 3 and t, respectively. Slide fastener tapes I! and l2 are sewn on the opposite edges of the flexible sheet and the slide fastener is preferably of the type in which the same may be completely disengaged. The engagement of the tape H at `the lowermost end thereof with a socket at the bottom end of the tape I2, permits the operation of the slide I3 in an upward direction by the movement of the handle IH connected thereto to bring the opposite sides of the sheet in juxtaposition and to form the tubular sleeve shown in Figure 1.

A strap 5 is attached on the inside of the sleeve at the lower end thereof, as by stitching 5, which strap is designed to be placed around the wrist of the wearer by the engagement of the free end 8 within the buckle l. The buckle 'l preferably is of the type which requires its turning over in order to permit a disengagement of the free end of the strap, and thereby a mere tugging of the strap will not effect an opening thereof. Provision of this strapatthe wrist is adequate to maintain the sleeve in position, but if desired,

i another one may be provided at the upper end of the sleeve.

Following the engagement of the slide fastener, at which time the slide Il and its handle Il are in the positions shown in Figures 1 and 3, the same are locked in such positions by locking' devices which require the manipulation o! two hands to effect a release thereof. In Figure 1 is shown a. flexible chain 30, attached to the sleeve and embodying a link 3i as part thereof, which chain is continuous and which may be broken at the link 3| by disengaging one end of the chain therefrom. Such chains are commonly used for different purposes, for example, for key rings. In Figure 3 a different form of locking means is shown by a ring I8, common in jewelry, which is sewn to the sleeve at I1, and which has a spring-pressed retractable segment I8 permitting the engagement of the ring I6 with the handle Il through the opening I5. Two hands are required to hold the handle I4 and manipulate the retractile segment I8 to permit a release of the handle from the ring preparatory to a downward sliding movement of the slide I3.

The sleeve is provided with reenforcing stays extending longitudinally thereof and distributed at different points therearound. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, four of such stays are shown at 2i, 22, 23 and 2l, which may be inserted in pockets 26 sewn on the inside of the sheet I. These stays are interchangeable by ripping some of the seams permitting the removal thereof, and insertion of others. These stays may result in a rigid or semi-rigid sleeve. For the use of infants, considerable flexibility can be permitted by the use of corset boning of Celluloid inserted in three or less of the pockets 26. For children two to five years of age, a stiifer steel slat may be used permitting slight flexibility. For other children, at least one slat or stay should be almost rigid. Preferably the slat 2l adjacent to the slat fastener is substantially rigid spirit of the invention, the seope of savanne inordertopreventafiexingofieslidefastener andan undesired movementof the sliding element.

In order to preclude any attempt of the wearer tomanipulatetheholdingstraplinthebuckie,

a flexible protuberanee ll (Figure 4) may be provided at the bottom end of the sleeve on the inside thereof, which may be in theformof a half-inch cording or rubber strlppinl, to narrow the space between the sleeve and the wrist. Thereby access to the holding band is prevented.

Various changes in the constructional embodiments of the invention illustrated herein may be made. For example, the sleeve may be independent vvas shown, or form part of a garment. Likewise, the buckles and other fasteners may assume different forms from that illustrated herein, and accordingly. while we have described our invention as embodied in concrete form and as operating in a specific manner for purposes of illustration, it should be understood that we do not limit our invention thereto. since various modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the which is set forth in the annexed claim.

What we claim is:

In a device of the class described, a flexible sheet of material provided with separable slide fastener elements upon oppodte edges thereof adapted to form a sleeve surrounding the armof a wearer above and below the elbow', reenforoements extending longitudinally of the sheet above and below the elbow and impeding the bending of the arm at the elbow, an inelastic strap attached on the inside of said exible sheet and set inwardly ot the distal edge of the sleeve; the inside measurement of the sleeve proximate to the hand being less than the inside measurement of the sleeve at the forearm.

HARRY BRESNICK. ESTHER S. BRESNICK. 

